And then she heard his cell phone ring, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him getting to his feet. “Can you bring my dessert to the study? I have some overseas calls to make.” He didn’t wait for her to reply as he strode to the door.
She hurried toward the other door, which led to the kitchen. After she turned off the timer, she stood and wondered what had just happened. Was he having second thoughts about getting too close? One minute he’d looked like he wanted to ravish her, and the next he had detached himself like she hadn’t mattered.
And that hurt.
It hurt even more because she loved him.
Giving herself time before she faced him again, she cleaned up, then carried a tray with a piece of the pie and coffee to the study. He was on the telephone and gestured for her to come in while he continued talking. She didn’t hang around. She left the tray and went to check on Nicole.
After that she wasn’t sure what to do. It was Saturday night and her husband was working and her daughter was sleeping and she was alone. She could watch some television, but that would only give her too much time to think.
Then she remembered her book. She should have finished it by now, but so much had been happening all week that it had left little time for herself. She decided to go sit in the atrium to read among the flowers and plants.
An hour later she looked up and saw Dominic standing a few feet away, holding a small plate with a piece of pie on it. Had he come to join her? Her heart started to race.
“You didn’t eat your pie?” he said, carrying the plate over and putting it down on the small table beside her.
The pie was for her?
How sweet.
“I wasn’t that hungry before,” she said, then saw that his sharp eyes missed nothing. He knew why she’d lost her appetite earlier. That he’d shut her out and that had upset her.
He glanced around the atrium. “So this is where you like to hide out?”
“Yes, it’s nice and relaxing in here.” She closed her book. “Did you want me for something in particular?”
His eyes gave a tiny flicker. “No. I just didn’t know where you were, that’s all.”
Her heart tilted, but not for long, as a tinge of suspicion filled her. “You thought I’d left the house.”
He stiffened. “No. It wasn’t that at all. I was…worried about you.”
“You were?” That surprised her.
“I just wanted to make sure you were fine.”
Tenderness ribboned through her. “Thanks,” she murmured, perhaps understanding more than he did that he was being protective again. He couldn’t help it. It was in his nature.
“I’d better let you get back to your book,” he said, seduction clearly not on his mind. “I’ll be in the gym, doing a workout, if you need me for anything.”
Her pulse started to race. She did need him for something. Yet she didn’t quite know how to tell him she wanted to make love to him. It would make her sound rather…desperate. Or too much in love with him.
“Do you work out often?” she asked, trying to concentrate on the conversation, not his well-toned body.
He looked surprised by the question. “Usually once or twice a week, or sometimes Adam and I play racquetball. The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic.”
She realized he hadn’t had any time to himself lately. It had to be hard on him. He must have stresses that needed more than a sexual release.
“I’m really sorry about all this, Dominic. You should be out having a good time on a Saturday night, not stuck at home with me.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you saying? That you want me to go out tonight?” His mouth flattened. “Why?”
“No, I’m not saying that.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s just, well, you’re home tonight because of me and Nicole. We’ve messed up your life so much. I feel bad about it.”
The tension seemed to seep out of him, and an odd softness swept over his face. “I’m not missing out on anything,” he said huskily. Then before she knew it, he leaned forward, held her head still and kissed her. It was quick and over before it had begun, but it left the taste of him on her lips. Then he spun around. “I have to go change for that workout,” he muttered and walked out of the atrium.
She watched him go, hope rising inside her. Was she beginning to mean more to him than he realized? He’d said that he’d been worried about her when he couldn’t find her. He’d said he wasn’t missing out on a thing by being married to her.
And he’d brought her a piece of pie.
Ten
A buzzing sound woke Cassandra during the night. For a moment she lay there, trying to wake up properly as she heard Dominic mutter something and get out of bed. He switched on the light.
And suddenly she knew.
She threw back the blankets, but he was closer to her handbag on the chair, and she watched in horror as he grabbed her cell phone and looked at the caller ID.
He frowned then looked at her. “It says Devondale Nursing Home. Is that where you—”
“Oh, no!” She surged off the bed and grabbed the phone from him, knowing something was wrong if they were calling her in the middle of the night. It was.
Her father had gone missing.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she told Jane Clyde, then ended the call and faced Dominic, panic rising in her throat. She was going to have to tell him about Joe, but more importantly right now she was scared for her father. “It’s my dad. He’s missing.”
His confused gaze rested on her. “From a nursing home? I thought you said he lived with your sister in Sydney?”
“I did say that, but…” She swallowed hard. “He’s in the nursing home here in Melbourne where I do volunteer work. He’s gone missing from there.”
His brows jerked together, then a pulse started ticking in his jaw. “So it wasn’t about doing volunteer work at all? You lied to me about it?”
She winced. “No, it’s not like that. I—”
“What else is there that I don’t know about you?” he said, cutting her off in disgust.
She understood where he was coming from. She truly did. But she had her reasons. Reasons she couldn’t tell him. And she couldn’t think beyond the moment.
“It’s a long story.”
His lips thinned with anger. “Get dressed. You can tell me on the way.”
She gave a gasp of surprise. “You’re coming with me?”
“What sort of question is that? I’m your husband.”
She blinked, then schooled her features. “Er…nothing.” She turned away to get dressed. Liam hadn’t really been interested in her father. He certainly wouldn’t have come with her now.
And Dominic wouldn’t be the man she loved if he didn’t want to go with her.
Then she remembered Nesta was away. “We’ll have to take Nicole with us,” she said, not wanting to wake her daughter but having no choice.
Fifteen minutes later Cassandra gave Dominic directions to the nursing home and they were on their way. Thankfully, Nicole had fallen back to sleep in her car seat before they were even out the drive.
“Now, tell me what this is about,” he said once they had left the house behind.
“Joe has dementia, and now he’s taken himself off somewhere.” Panic swept through her again. “He’s out there in the dark somewhere. He has good days and bad days, and he probably doesn’t know where he is.” Her words caught in her throat. She could barely say the next words. “There’s a river nearby.”
He reached over and squeezed her knee. “He’ll be fine,” was all he said before he concentrated on driving without another word.
It was enough for Cassandra, and she managed to blink back tears, grateful she had someone with her for once. At least it was a warm night and not cold.
The nursing home was awash with light when they turned into the drive. Cassandra gasped at the police car parked out front.
Then Jane Clyde came rushing over as Cassandra got out of the car. “They’ve found him, Cassandra,” she said, for once forgetting to call her Mrs. Roth. “Someone saw him walking along the street in his pajamas and had the good sense to call the police.”
Cassandra slumped with relief. “Thank God!”
Dominic was out of the car by now, too. He frowned at the administrator. “How did he get out? I’m assuming the place would have been locked up.”
Cassandra winced at the hardness of his tone, though she would have asked the same question. “This is my husband,” she said to Jane.
“Yes, I know.” The other woman pulled back her shoulders, as if facing a firing squad. “Mr. Roth, we think he may have slipped out when one of the staff went out to her car to get something. It probably wasn’t intentional that he left. He saw the unlocked door and just walked through it. That’s all it would take.”
He looked stern. “I certainly hope you’re going to look at your procedures and tighten security in future.”
“I can assure you it won’t happen again, Mr. Roth.”
Cassandra watched the two of them measure each other, but she was more interested now in seeing her father. “Can I see him?”
Jane turned to her. “Of course, Mrs. Roth,” she said, back to normal. “The doctor’s already checked him over, and he’s fine. Please go inside.”
Cassandra’s heart filled with relief when she saw her father sitting on the chair in his room, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, a cup of tea by his side. The male nurse reassured them of the same thing, then left them alone.
“Oh, Dad,” she said, crouching down in front of him and taking hold of his hands. “You shouldn’t have left your room.”
Her father blinked. “Cassie?”
“Yes, Dad. It’s me.” She looked up at his beloved face. “Are you okay? Are you in pain anywhere?”
He shook his gray head, but his eyes were confused. “Should I be?”
Her spirits sank. “No, Dad.”
He looked behind her at the door. “Liam came to see me, too? And Nicole?”
She glanced behind her and saw Dominic cradling Nicole against his shoulder, watching them. “No, Dad. That’s not Liam. That’s Liam’s brother Dominic.”
Her father’s face turned mulish. “Good. I don’t like Liam.”
“Dad,” she scolded lightly, feeling herself flush.
Dominic moved forward with Nicole. “Hi, Joe. You’ve given Cassandra quite a scare.”
“I did? Why?”
Cassandra looked at Dominic with despair in her heart, then back at her father. “It’s okay, Dad. You’re fine now and that’s all that matters.” She kissed his cheek. “We’ll leave you to go to bed. You’ve had quite an evening. I’ll come see you in a few days, okay?”
They took their leave after that, with Jane promising to call if Joe developed any chest infections or illnesses from being outside in the night.
Dominic didn’t speak on the way home, but she had no doubt he would once they arrived there. Yet she still couldn’t tell him the full story about Liam paying her money to have his baby. Couldn’t even hint at it. She had to tread carefully.